September

First month of school done, weather is starting to get cooler, actually had to turn on the heat one morning. All the trees are turning yellow then brown, I miss the orange and reds that meant fall out east. We just don't have the right type of trees here in Southern Alberta. Now if we went to Waterton or up North past Red Deer then I am sure we would see some real fall colours. Fall use to be my favourite time of year, crisp cool mornings, beautiful colours on the trees, crunchy leaves to step on and of course Halloween. Now that I am an adult and parent I can honestly say that Halloween is just not that much fun unless you are a kid.  I don't dress up, I don't go to party's, I don't get candy, I do get to go trick-or-treating with my littlest 2 girls. Veronica wants to be a dragon this year and Cara, I think, will be dressed as a bee. Need to get to Old Navy to pick up their customs this year. I cant wait to take a bunch of pictures and make LOs. Plus we are scheduling a family photo  to be taken. I am hoping to have one done every couple of years. It took me almost 4 years to talk Tyler into one because he hates having his picture taken.
Veronica is pretty much potty trained just struggling with the whole poop on the toilet thing but otherwise done. Cara has decided she wants to use the potty to so we sit her on there a couple times a day. Some times she uses it other times she just wants to sit there LOL. But that is a good start with a nonverbal child.
The Dayhome is finally full 3 days a week, I could take on a part time child for Thursdays and Fridays but its nice to have a slower couple of days before the weekend.
Weekends are hopefully going to start slowing down, all the girls are back from summer holidays and are back to work at Cleo which means I get my Saturdays back. I love working at Cleo with Amy and everyone but I miss being home on Saturdays and helping to get the cleaning done so we can do something fun in the afternoon. Plus I can make my big meals again. It was great a couple of weeks ago, had Shaun and Mark over and cooked glazed ham, country style potatoes, carrots. Then last week end had them over again and Liz, Aaron and Amelia, so had Chicken pot pie, Cesar salad and Apple pie with ice cream. Not sure what to cook for tomorrow as we always have Shaun and Mark over on Saturdays.
Have Thanksgiving planned and mostly bought for. Still need to get a turkey but was unable to find one at the places I shop yesterday. Shaun, Mark and Cathy will be here for sure, waiting to find out if my mom and stepdad are joining us. Turkey, homemade buns, mashed potatoes, yams, carrots, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, a couple of pumpkin pies, lemon merquine pie and I have not decided yet if I will make broccoli and cheese sauce. I love Thanksgiving and cooking for people. If I could I would entertain more. I now have the house for it and a nice large kitchen just don't have enough places for people to sit and eat.
This weekend is General Conference, I will be unable to watch it Saturday due to Fostercare training but I will be able to see it later online. I love technology it has made my life much easier, sometimes I look at things and wonder how did I ever get by with out such and such. I can keep track of friends across the world, meet people from all over the world, see shows that I missed, listen to music before I buy it, able to share pictures with family no matter were they are. Talk to and see family via skype in real time. It is a great blessing. Well on that note God Bless you all and have a most wonderful weekend with your friends and families!

9/11

It dawned a warm and sunny day. The first thing I did was check on CTV news to see about a little boy was finally safe at home after being abducted on Tuesday. Was glad to see that sometime around 3am he was returned to his home. It was a wonderful start to a day that holds terrible memories for much of North America. Next up was switching on the TV to CNN to watch the 10th anniversary specials of 9/11. Glad I did not wear any makeup to Church as I spent most of the morning before leaving crying. The specials, dedications, and documentaries on yesterday were very moving. It is one of those days in history that if you lived through you will always be able to say where and what you were doing when the news hit of such tragedy.
Learn about some forgotten heroes yesterday, those boat operators that helped to evacuate survivers from downtown Manhattan. They were amazing and it was incredible to see the footage of them answering the call by the Coast Guard to come and help. To hear from the children of the first responders, who are now 10, that never got to met their fathers due to the towers collapsing. My heart goes out to them, everyone has a right to know their parents and these children only know half. To hear of the continued health problems, mental, physical and emotional that is plaguing those who helped at ground zero broke my heart. After 10 years the death toll is still raising.
I stand side by side my American friends and cry with you. I know the healing is on going, please know that I salute your troops and first responders and this tragic day in history will not be forgotten. God bless America the home of the Brave and Free!

Waiting and Training

So the plan was to take the girls to Calgary this past weekend to visit with Grandma and Opa. This did not happen for several reasons. Wednesday the girls were exposed to Chicken Pox by a friend, his son did not show any systems until Tuesday when the spots appeared. We decide to expose them again Thursday and Saturday, Saturday being the day they come over to play games with us. I have had the Chicken Pox and so have the older two kids but we were unsure of Tyler. He called his mom and was informed yes he had them while young but not a good idea to visit them as they have their 2 grandsons for the next couple of weeks while their dad Guides. Neither of the boys have had the Chicken Pox and the grandparents cant stay home from work if they get sick. So now we wait 12-14 days to see if they get them and if not then we plan a visit. Now this is hard for Veronica because she has been asking to see them and doesn't understand why we cant go right now.
The other big news is we have become serious about potty training Veronica. She loves to go on the potty but refuses to tell us when. Tyler and I talked about different solutions to this and decided to pick up a kitchen timer. Every time it goes off she goes on the potty. It worked really well for 2 days then on the third day nothing but accidents. Tyler was ready to give up because "she just doesn't understand" but I encourage him that we just need to be consistent in what we are doing and she will eventually get there. Yesterday we went and had her choose some real panties, she was very excited to do this and could not wait to get home to put them one. No accidents again so here is fingers cross that this continues. She really hates making a mess and getting all wet and I think that is what will finally do it. Pull ups are great but they don't teach the kids anything even with that "cool zone" when they wet themselves. Now the big one is to get her to poop on the toilet all the time too and then we will pretty much be done!
Michaela and Fred start seminary this morning. What a crazy mess that is. Both of them are in the morning and trying to figure out rides is a nightmare. Finally by 10pm last night everything was a go and they are up bright and early, 5:30, to get ready for their day. I too am up at that time otherwise it would be nothing but fighting and arguing and I really would like the 2 girls to stay asleep until 7am. It is the perfect time for me to do all my computer errands and read/right blogs. Have a great day everyone its going to be a hot week.

First day of School and Bullying

So today was the first day back to school for Michaela and Fred. I can't believe I have 2 children in High School. Michaela is still at LCI and Fred is going to Chinook, it is good to have them in 2 different schools. Michaela graduates this year, wow am I ever old. I remember my High School Graduation like it was yesterday and now my oldest is graduating this year. 20 years ago would never of guessed I would be watch my own child finish High School. Michaela also has Drivers ed this year and will get her license which means I can then send her on errands to the store, LOL. I have high hopes for Fred this year and that he wont be bullied. I am not going to let the schools handle it anymore, they never really do anything about it. Alot of the kids that bully him are kids he goes to church and Scouts with, this year I am going straight to the parents and we are going to have a chat! I mean I was tease in elementary but nothing like what Fred is experiencing. Kids have become down right mean, threatening and abusive, children should not have to put up with that kind of treatment. Most of us understand what this does to a person, how it belittles them, hurts their self esteem, and can cause depression and lose of self worth. As a society we have determined that this is considered abuse and adults can be charge by the police for it but we constantly make excuses for kids and try to counsel them to treat others nicer. In my experience this is a waste of time, there needs to be some major consequences for kids that bully otherwise they don't get how wrong it is. I have lived with this problem for 7 years now with my son, he is constantly bullied at school or Scouts and doesn't wish to participate at church activities because of the other kids. This year I will hopefully put a stop to this so he can enjoy his High School years as I did!